Ruby-topaz hummingbird

Ruby-topaz hummingbird
In Bonaire
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Clade:	Strisores
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Trochilidae
Subfamily:	Polytminae
Genus:	Chrysolampis Boie, F, 1831
Species:	C. mosquitus
Binomial name
Chrysolampis mosquitus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Trochilus mosquitus ( protonym )

The ruby-topaz hummingbird (Chrysolampis mosquitus), commonly referred to simply as the ruby topaz, is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Polytminae, the mangoes. It is found in Aruba, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, Colombia, Curaçao, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.^[3][4][5]

Taxonomy

The ruby-topaz hummingbird was

The ruby-topaz hummingbird is 8 to 9.5 cm (3.1 to 3.7 in) long and weighs 2.5 to 5 g (0.09 to 0.18 oz). Its almost straight, black bill is relatively short compared to those of most other hummingbirds. The male has dark brown upperparts with an olive gloss. Its crown and nape are glossy ruby red, and the throat and breast are usually iridescent golden though sometimes emerald green. The rest of the underparts are brown and the chestnut tail is tipped black.^[11]

The female ruby-topaz hummingbird has bronze-green upperparts and pale grey underparts. The tail is mostly chestnut with a dark subterminal band and a white tip; the central feathers are olive green. Females on Trinidad and Tobago sometimes have a greenish throat-streak (it may appear dark). Juvenile females are similar to adult females, but with a white-tipped dusky-brown tail. Juvenile males resemble the juvenile female, but with a variable amount of

The ruby-topaz hummingbird is found from eastern Panama east through northern Colombia, Venezuela, and the Guianas into northeastern Brazil. From there it is found through central and eastern Brazil as far south as Mato Grosso and westward into eastern Bolivia. In Colombia its range extends southward between the three Andes ranges, and it is also found in the ABC Islands and Trinidad and Tobago.^[3][11] It has been recorded as a vagrant in Argentina and Peru and there is at least one unconfirmed sight record in Paraguay.^[4]

The ruby-topaz hummingbird inhabits the interior and edges of open savanna-like landscapes and shrubby arid hillsides; it is found in gardens and cultivated areas as well. It mostly occurs below 500 m (1,600 ft) of elevation but is found as high as 1,700 m (5,600 ft).^[11]

Behavior

Movement

The ruby-topaz hummingbird is migratory, though its movement pattern and timing vary across its range and are not well defined. It appears to move north and south in Brazil and east and west along the north coast of South America and the offshore islands.^[11]

Feeding

The ruby-topaz hummingbird feeds on

The ruby-topaz hummingbird's breeding season varies across its range. In the northern part it spans from December to June and in much of Brazil from September to March. The female makes a tiny cup nest of fine plant fibers and spider silk decorated on the outside with lichens. It places it on a branch or in a branch fork, typically between 1 and 4 metres (3.3 and 13 ft) above the ground. The clutch size is two eggs. The incubation time is 15 to 16 days with fledging usually 19 to 22 days after hatch, though sometimes as long as 28 days.^[11]

Vocalization

The ruby-topaz hummingbird's song is "a doubled 'tliii...tliii...tliii'", which is usually given from a high perch.^[11]

Status

The

• 
  Male in flight
• 
  Male in flight
• 
  Female in flight
• 
  Female (left)
• 
  Male
• 
  Male by Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon (1707-1788)

References